


Hot Chocolate

by ReformedTsundere



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ficlet, Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 02:17:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20220151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReformedTsundere/pseuds/ReformedTsundere
Summary: Iruka is a skating instructor and Kakashi is a figure skater who puts him on edge.





	Hot Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in the process of transferring my work to a side account just for my creative content. It's otakutalks @ tumblr.com - Come check it out!

For what seems like the sixth time in one lesson Umino Iruka feels his temple throb.

“Naruto!” His yell echoes across the ice and nearly all the other skaters, not just the one who's attention he was trying to get, stop dead in their tracks, kicking up ice due to the speed in which they break. The young blonde turns on his toe and has the decency to look mildly sheepish. Iruka slides over to him easily. “How many times do I have to tell you,” the anger seeps from his tone as he goes to one knee, balance perfectly kept. “You can’t keep trying the lutz just because Sasuke can do it.”

“But Iruka-sensei! He -”

“No Naruto,” and there’s that scold in his tone again. “Look," once more it bleeds out as fast as it had come "just keep practicing your normal jumps and landings and when you stop falling down we’ll work on it together okay?” Iruka can tell that Naruto isn’t actually appeased, but regardless he nods his head and skates away. The young teacher knows in his bones that his warning will only last five minutes at most. It's been that way the whole morning. He shakes his head lightly, reminded so much of a younger self and goes to rise.

Iruka, once back to standing, almost goes down again when behind him a voice speaks.

“Trouble with the kids again?” It’s said right next to the shell of his ear and gives Iruka a start. If it weren’t for his steadiness on the ice he might have fallen over. Spinning on his skates Iruka faces Kakashi with a glare. He can’t see the others mouth beneath his under-armor, brought up just above his nose, but if Iruka were a betting man he was sure the older man was grinning.

“No more than usual.” It comes out brisk.

It’s not that Iruka doesn’t like Kakashi Hatake per-say, it’s even the opposite most days, but there’s something that makes the instructor weary of the silver-haired man. Whether it’s the way Kakashi moves across the ice, sharp and clean and _deadly _(trained to be a figure skater since he could stand) or the way that his eye tracks Iruka around the rink when he’s warming up with the kids. He isn’t sure.

They lapse into silence, the noise of the skating filling in the gaps. The way Kakashi stares at him is both unnerving and _exciting_. Iruka clears his throat, heat crawling up the back of his neck.

“Working on a routine today or just conditioning?” It’s a common enough topic thrown around the rink by those who often compete. Kakashi however, likely trying to maintain his air of secrecy, tilts his head in amusement and taps his nose with his index finger, eye curved in a way that makes Iruka think he’s been made fun of.

Kakashi levels him with one last look and skates off the moment Iruka is going to say something about his rudeness. In also the moment that he hears a thump from the other end of the rink where Sakura and Sasuke are standing over Naruto who has no doubt tried the lux _again_. Not even five minutes.

Two hours later and his last group of kids done for the day, Iruka finally gives himself a moment to breathe and cast his eyes around the ring to see if Kakashi is still there.

He isn’t.

Iruka doesn’t know why he feels disappointed. It probably has something to do with the fact he likes to stay after his lessons and watch Kakashi move across the ice like he was built for it. Iruka knows he’ll never be, _could _never be, as good as the other man, but he likes watching just the same.

Sometimes on those afternoons Kakashi would catch him and give a little wave mid-routine. It appears it won’t be a day like that, however, so Iruka moves off the ice toward his usual bench in order to get his skates off, his feet are sore and if he's not going to get to watch pure talent on the ice he might as well go home and try to rest.

When he's halfway off the ice movement makes his eyes snap up. His face contorts into an expression of surprise when he catches sight of silver hair and a curved eye. One of Kakashi’s hands is raised in a tiny greeting from Iruka’s bench.

Iruka makes his way over, he hops on to the rubbery platform of the outer ring, walking steadily on his blades toward the other.

“Kakashi-san, you’re not practicing longer?” Iruka is embarrassed the second the question is past his lips. It’s not really for him to ask. The other doesn’t seem to think it odd though and simply shrugs.

“I needed a break.” He says it flippantly and Iruka has never seen Kakashi Hatake take a break ever since he’d started coming to the rink six months ago. Then the instructor catches the two steaming cups at Kakashi’s side. The skater follows the path of Iruka’s gaze and picks one up, holding it out for Iruka to take. “Hot chocolate,” is all he offers as an explanation. Iruka takes it with silence thanks and sits hesitantly beside the other man. They don't _do _this and it's putting Iruka a little on edge.

He takes a small sip and immediately what little tension had built in his shoulder drains. It’s good and warm. Kakashi had likely just bought it and it makes Iruka think. He looks at the other man out of the corner of his eye. Maybe the reason he always feels so off-kilter around Kakashi isn’t because of the sharpness in the way he cuts across the ice, or even the way he feels Kakashi’s stare as he himself skates, on the rare occasion that he can. Maybe it’s the perplexing way he has of filling the gaps in Iruka’s time so easily, slipping in and settling without hardly any resistance. Maybe it’s the way he smiles with his one good eye and makes conversation and never fails to sneak up behind him.

Iruka takes another sip of his hot chocolate and thinks, maybe, as he watches Kakashi do the same, it doesn’t really matter.

Maybe all that matters is that they’ve got ice, and time and hot chocolate to share between them.

And maybe, they’ll just have to go from there.


End file.
